Monday, November 5, 2012

Just as Napolean and Hitler learned the hard way that you do not attack Russia in late summer or fall, so too is New York, New Jersey, and many other East Coast states in the wake of hurricane Sandy learning that dealing with reconstruction on the precipice of winter is a harrowing experience. This is what Governor Cuomo and tens of thousands in New York City are realizing when a new report from Nov. 5 shows that being homeless when winter storms are coming to your city, is the catalyst for intense misery.

First the flood, now the freeze (and the lack of fuel and gas and heating just
making it much worse). And for tens of thousands of residents of New York and
New Jersey this means that as many as 40,000 will need to find alternative
housing, especially ahead of Wednesday when a Nor'easter formation is expected
to hit the Tristate area and bring even more freezing rain and cold to the
region. From Reuters:
"Tens of thousands of people affected by superstorm Sandy could soon
need housing as cold weather descends on the state of New York,
Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Sunday. Cuomo, in a televised press conference
nearly a week after the storm hit the U.S. East Coast, said the fuel shortages
are improving but problems will persist for "a number of days."" Elsewhere, and
also from Reuters:
"Victims of superstorm Sandy on the U.S. East Coast struggled against the cold
early on Sunday amid fuel shortages and power outages even as officials fretted
about getting voters displaced by the storm to polling stations for Tuesday's
presidential election. Overnight, near-freezing temperatures gripped the U.S.
northeast. At least two more victims were found in New Jersey, one dead of
hypothermia, as the overall death toll from one of worst storms in U.S. history
climbed to at least 112. - Zerohedge

Unfortunately, New York is one of the last places where people are willing to open their doors to strangers, and where strangers are just as likely to steal from you during a crisis. Besides the massive reports of looting in the aftermath of the hurricane, even waitng for hours in a line to get gasoline has forced police to monitor stations due to the fights and potential theft of unprepared citizens.

New York City is a stark opposition to Joplin, Missouri, where neighboring towns welcomes homesless families in after the devasting tornado of 2011. However, in NYC, it's an ideology of every man for himself, and the fears are the government is unable to deal with the massive amount of numbers homeless, and the people themselves do not want to take the risk of sheltering strangers for long periods of time.